Macs and Matatus

It’s hard to believe we’ve only been here for three weeks, I feel like I’m such a part of the culture already.  We started our time in Uganda in Kwapa sub-county.  When you think African bush, that’s exactly where we were living.  Our vehicle bounced up and down in the holes in the dirt road as we drove out there.  The first two weeks were spent assisting the local churches and their pastors.  We did a lot of hut-to-hut visiting and evangelizing.  The people are so incredibly welcoming and they love it when we come to their huts.  As soon as we walk up, they run and grab chairs and insist that we sit down and relax in the shade under a tree.  On several occasions, the women sent me away from some sort of fruit, eggs, or rice as a thank-you gift for visiting.  These people here really understand hospitality.  Some days I feel like it’s incredibly important that I emphasize there is nothing special about us; rather there is something very special about the Gospel that brought us here.  We loved being in the village.  Each day when we drove back into it, the children would sprint behind the truck and yell “Hello, how are you Mizungus!”  That word is the African word for white person, and we hear it everywhere we go.  I like to joke and say, “I’m not mizungu, I’m Ateso…”  Then I spout of one of the six or seven words of Ateso that I speak and they all laugh really hard.  

To be perfectly honest, adjusting to life has been a bit more difficult than I thought.  There are some days that are just really tough.  Sundays are especially hard because I miss being in my church back home.  Both Delta Church and Hope Fellowship have been so important to me in the last year and it’s been a tough adjustment.  4 hours in Ugandan church each Sunday morning can be a little reality check.  Nevertheless, God is God in Africa and the U.S.  I read a Resurgence article this morning called “God Does Not Change,” and it was really encouraging for me.  The last few days have been some of the best for me, and each day I wake up reminding myself about being content in Christ, regardless of my situation (Philippians 4:11-13).

We left Kwapa this past weekend and moved to Malaba.  It’s a totally different situation from Kwapa.  It’s more city-like, although it is incredibly poor.  We get to pretty much walk everywhere though, which has allowed us to build relationships with the locals better than at our last location.  I met two guys, George and Eric, who seem to be straight out of Jamaica.  They’re two Bob Marley wanna-be’s, but they’re a whole lot of fun.  This morning I walked outside and they were waiting for me with a gift…It was a bracelet with my name written on it…It said: Jonnel.  So apparently, my African name is Jonnel.  It really was pretty cool though, and I can’t wait to grow my relationship with those two.  We leave Malaba this coming weekend and head to Tororo, and we’ll be there for two more weeks.  Tororo is basically the main “city” right now, which is where Internet connections are and stuff like that.  Today we’re eating lunch at a place called TLT, which apparently sells cheeseburgers and fries….I’ll get back to you on that one.  

Last night our team did our own makeshift church together, where we played a podcast sermon and sang some songs.  After the sermon we took communion together, which was the first time we’d done that.  It was so good to be reminded of the reason we’re here.  Without the body and blood that the bread and juice represented, this trip would mean nothing and none of us would be here.  Reflecting on the work the Lord has done in each of our lives to bring us to this common place right now is really encouraging.  I’m happy to be in Uganda and really cherishing the opportunities I’ve been giving to preach the gospel, to love the people, and to walk with the Lord alongside of a team doing the same thing.  

Please pray for the following:

-that people we evangelize to would be open to the Gospel, not only to the Americans.

-that we would leave an eternal impact in Malaba, a community clearly lost and desperate.

-that our team would be restored to good health, and that sickness would not deter us.

-that our team would understand the power in being content with where the Lord has us.

-that I would focus myself on being in the present without looking forward to what will happen when I return home.  

-that the glory of God and the fame of His name would be the reason our team does ministry.  

Thanks,

Jordan